You know what’s fun? Getting paid less for the same work. Like when your boss announces a “new compensation structure” and you suddenly find yourself making 74 cents an hour and thanking them for the opportunity because “team culture.”
Guess what, indie authors? You’re now living that dream. Courtesy of our benevolent tech overlords at Amazon, who just unveiled their latest contribution to the slow, grinding erosion of your dignity: a 10% royalty cut on print books priced below $9.99.
That’s right. Starting June 10, they’re taking 50% of your book’s list price. But they’re not done. Oh no. Because you don’t just fork over half the cover price—you also get to pay them to print your book, and boy, do they charge you like they’re silk-screening it with gold leaf and unicorn spit.
Let’s break it down with a nice, digestible example.
A $9.99 Paperback: Who Gets What
Let’s say you’re selling a 300-page black-and-white paperback on Amazon KDP for $9.99.
- Amazon immediately takes 50% of the sale price: $4.995
- You—the writer, editor, marketer, and occasional emotional support line for your characters—get the other 50%: $4.995
- From your share, Amazon deducts “printing costs”: $4.60
- Which leaves you with: $0.395
That’s thirty-nine cents. For writing an entire book.
You can’t even buy a gumball with that.
But wait—it gets better.
Because that $4.60 printing cost? That’s not what it costs them. Based on third-party digital printer data, the actual material cost to produce that book—paper, ink, cover stock, glue, labor, machine time—is about $2.10.
Which means Amazon is quietly marking up the print job by $2.50 per copy.
The Real Math (a.k.a. You’re Getting Played)
So here’s what actually happens when someone buys your $9.99 paperback:
- Amazon’s royalty cut (50%): $4.995
- Amazon’s print markup: ~$2.50
- Amazon’s total profit: $7.495
And you?
- Author royalty: $0.395
Final Split (Per Book):
- Amazon: ~$7.50
- You: $0.39
- Actual printing cost: ~$2.10
Amazon makes nineteen times more than the person who created the book.
But hey—you’re empowered, right? That’s what they call it. “Empowered publishing.” You’re your own boss. You own your future. You get to call yourself a “creative entrepreneur” while Bezos buys another yacht with your dreams.
Meanwhile, traditional publishers print the same books for $1.25 a pop and sell them at the same price point. Because they use offset printing. Because they have distribution networks. Because they’re not trapped in the quicksand of a single-point-of-sale monopoly run by a corporation that treats every author like a pesky cost center.
And now, Amazon’s message is clear: if you want to price your book under ten bucks, they’ll still sell it—but you’ll be working for free.
So What Now?
You have options. Not great ones, but options.
- Raise your prices and hope your readers don’t flinch.
- Look into alternative POD platforms like IngramSpark—if you like onboarding forms written by lawyers.
- Start a direct store on Shopify—if you’re ready to moonlight as your own fulfillment center.
- Or keep feeding the beast, if only because it’s the only game in town.
But don’t call it a partnership. Call it what it is: publishing feudalism. You do the labor. They take the land. You get a turnip.
Raise your prices if you must. Diversify your platforms. Warn your friends. And if you’ve got a cousin with a basement zine press and a criminal record—maybe give them a call.
Because Amazon’s not just skimming anymore.
They’re coming for the whole book.
